Night Fury's Wrath

Chapter 94: Learning [Part 2]

"GET AWAY!"

New fear sparked in Myrkr's amber eyes, but it wasn't the kind of fear I was familiar with. Somehow, it was different, less visceral. The brown dragon dropped to his belly in submission. "Test me!"

I paused. I hadn't expected him to say that, let alone drop down and leave himself vulnerable. What was his game?

"Test me," he repeated softly, his eyes locked onto me. "I-I'm not a bad male. Let me prove it!"

Anari sighed. "I suppose we can. Open your mind—"

"Not. You," he growled, then reverted to his soft voice. "Aurora. T-Test me. See for yourself."

I narrowed my eyes. "I can't see in your mind," I growled. "Let Anari look." He was lucky I gave him a chance at all!

"Are ya gonna cooperate now?" Anari warbled, annoyed. 

Myrkr didn't spare the tiny dragon a glance. "L-Look through our bond. Cores can't lie. I'll let you see anything you want! Nothing is t-too personal for my mate!" He crawled a little closer on his belly. "Please, Aurora, see who I am. See that I would never trick you. Remember how you talked to me through the bond when you were in trouble? Just do that again, but focus hard on it. M-My core is wide open for you."

I hesitated, then looked at Anari for guidance. "Is it true? Can I do it?"

The small dragon merely shrugged. "He isn't lying about that. Cores can't lie because a dragon's spirit lies inside it. Usually, it's impossible to look into a dragon's core and see their true self. It's something only the gods can do... and soulmates, but only to each other. If ya are Myrkr's soulmate, well..."

"She is," Myrkr whispered. "A-And I'm hers."

Anari snorted at that. "So he says. If he's lying, ya will see nothing but darkness. If he's telling the truth, ya will see Myrkr's core, and if he's really leaving it open for ya... I guess ya will see Myrkr. His true self. I can't do this for ya. Not even Caligo can see or do anything, and she has some of the power of a god."

Not that I would want to.

I looked at Myrkr, who waited for me with wide, pleading eyes. If he was lying, I would know. If he wasn't, I didn't know what I would see. "What are you going to show me?" I asked cautiously.

"Anything you want," Myrkr answered without hesitation.

Anything, huh?

I focused on the strange thing in my chest that I'd accidentally touched before, instantly stirring a pulsing, light sensation. This time, I focused on the pulsing; before I knew it, my vision was consumed by colors. With some effort, I pushed on through the rising unease, determined to show no weakness. The colors faded into black. Before I could doubt myself, I felt something warm... something... familiar?

I saw things. I didn't understand any of it. Why did I keep seeing myself? Who was the other dragon with scales like mine, only... backwards? I saw Splinter, Auroon, and... a white dragon. 

It felt like I got pulled along, replacing the visions with myself again, albeit a lot cleaner and... screaming. I was squatted over a pile of moss, and my belly was very large. The vision blurred as my view shifted wildly, almost as if panicking. I saw myself collapse, breast heaving for air and belly still bulging, but it spasmed. There was... blood pooling near my hind legs. A lot of blood. What was happening to me? Why did I see so much blood?

My sight shifted to my head, and suddenly, I heard things. Whimpering that wasn't mine, shaky reassurances, and pleas to pull through. My eyes were full of so much pain, but my eyelids kept drifting lower and lower until they closed. Fear stabbed through me, and a brown paw reached out to shake my unresponsive body—